Signed to a recording contract at the age of 12, Aaliyah became an overnight R&B sensation. At the height of her stardom, a fatal plane crash ended her life.
Ron Brown was a lawyer and Democratic politician who served as commerce secretary under the administration of President Bill Clinton.
Patsy Cline was a celebrated country singer best known for her crossover hits, including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight."
John Denver was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1970s. His hits include "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy."
Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, mysteriously disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
Steve Fossett was an American businessman and adventurer best known for circumnavigating the globe in a hot air balloon in 2002.
Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man to travel into space
Buddy Holly was a singer/songwriter whose records, conveying a sense of the wide-open spaces of West Texas and unstoppable joie de vivre, remain vital today.
Lech Kaczynski was a politician who served as president of Poland until his sudden death in a plane crash in 2010.
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy married John F. Kennedy Jr. and was considered a trendsetter and fashion icon. She died in a small plane crash in 1999.
Later the publisher of political magazine George, JFK Jr. was the first child ever born to a president-elect, the son of JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy,
American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the title and won an unrivaled 49 straight fights.
The most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy returned home a hero and became an actor, starring in his own story, To Hell and Back.
Ted Stevens was a U.S. senator from Alaska, and the longest-serving Republican senator in American history (1968-2009).
Mexican-American musician Ritchie Valens is best known for his hit "La Bamba." His successful career was cut short when he died in a plane crash at age 17.
A preeminent bluesman, award-winning guitarist and singer Stevie Ray Vaughan earned critical and commercial success during the 1980s.